Jun ware

Jun ware ( 鈞窯) is a type of Chinese porcelain ware originated from the Song dynasty some 800 years ago. This ware  uses straw ash to make the glaze which give the ware its unique blue glaze suffused with white. The ware was first created  during the Northern Song dynasty (960–1126) to the Jin dynasty (1115–1234) and Yuan dynasty (1271–1368).

The Jun glaze included blue-gray, sky-blue, moon-white, red and purple, the most prized have crimson or purple splashes. Varying the temperature of the kilns changed colour tints, a technique known as yaobian. The foot of the later period ware is usually unglazed and brown; the rim of bowls can also be brown or greenish where the glaze is thinner. Song period examples display a careful finishing with glaze inside the foot.

The art of producing the Jun ware was not lost but kept alive by craftsmen who inherited the techniques and skills of this art from their ancestors. Today masters of Jun ware can produce the artifacts with such high standard that their ware can match or even surpass those produced by their ancestors. This is evident from the Jun vase recently made by a master. This vase, after firing, has a unique glaze that resembles the natural mountain scene with a misty surrounding.

Although Song dynasty Jun ware is high sough after, the newly created masterpieces are equally sough after by collectors who like the Jun ware. The reason is simple, it is not easy to create a masterpiece as most Jun pieces were rejected by their creators due to imperfections in the glaze after firing.

A masterpiece Jun ware

 

Another Jun vase has a greenish glaze after it was successfully fired in the kiln. Both these vases are treasured by the master who created them. He would not sell them even though there are buyers willing to offer good money to own the Jun ware.

Some Jun pieces produced during the Song and Yuan dynasties.